Blogs

Recently I've spent some time browsing the Net and learned about some new stuff ("new" meaning "new to me") that I would like to share with you. Let us have a look at HavaRunner, some nice TestNG reports, and TDD Katas.

Sooner or later your CI server will became very busy, and your frustration will grow because of increasing wait time for each build. One thing you can do to improve the situation is to avoid running jobs when there is no need to do so.

I use Jenkins + Maven + SVN in this example, but you can use this "tricks" also when using different technologies - Gradle, Git etc.

I can't remember when it started but since some time I was collecting "interesting" pieces of test code. By "interesting" I mean the ones that could be well improved. After some time I noticed there are some (anti)patterns, some typical bugs, or rather imperfections which I observe frequently when reviewing test code.

I try to write my tests so they fulfil some basic requirements. They should verify some important part of the system. They should survive refactorings. They should be readable, clear and concise, so you can read them like documentation. They should be fast.

Today I have learnt about Ishikawa diagram (AKA fishbone diagrams, herringbone diagrams, cause-and-effect diagrams, or Fishikawa). And I started to wonder whether it makes sense to use it to diagnose the issues related to the production of software. (I will not explain Ishikawa diagram in this post, so please have a look at Wikipedia description if it does not ring any bells for you).

One of my readers asked a question whether he should rather use test doubles (mocks) or Test Data Builders to create objects (collaborators) for testing purposes. I've decided to write down some thoughts in form of this blog post. I hope it makes things more clear.

Some time ago I have decided to stop using services offered by Google. This is not because I'm disappointed with their quality or features!. It is because the latest Snowden/PRISM/NSA revelations and also due to the feeling that big companies (not only Google) are misusing my private data.